October 1: Mazama Village to Klamath Falls, Oregon
There was frost on the windows this morning! Is this a sign of what’s to come in the last three weeks of The Dream Tour?
Probably not. At just over 6000 feet, Mazama Village could be our highest elevation for an overnight stay on The Dream Tour.
On the other hand, it is October 1 and it has been known to snow in this part of the country. Crater Lake National Park gets an average of 44 feet of snow between October and June every year.
It was going to be especially cold riding this morning because I knew that it was going to be all downhill for the first 15-20 miles of the ride. I threw on an extra layer of clothing including a hat and full-fingered gloves.
After the long downhill, I was out on the flats to the north of Agency Lake. It was a lot warmer, but still cool enough to be comfortable with all the layers I started with. I saw a cyclist up ahead and watched as I got closer and closer. I finally pulled up along side of the cyclist and we struck up a conversation. Her name was Barbara, she was from Medford, Oregon, and she was out for a Sunday morning spin while her husband was out hunting. I so rarely get to ride with other cyclists on The Dream Tour, so we rode together all the way back to the RV Park in Fort Klamath where they were staying.
After that, I was on my own again to finish the ride into Klamath Falls. After a very nice 10 miles or so along the east shore of Agency Lake and Upper Klamath Lake, I was back onto Highway 97. It was still 20 miles or so to Klamath Falls, so I used my handheld GPS to search for alternate routes. I found several country roads to enjoy for a few miles at a stretch, but each of them eventually put me back onto Highway 97. In the end, I only did about 10 miles on Highway 97. As I entered Klamath Falls, I was thrilled to be exiting Highway 97 for the last time.
| Total distance: | 58.83 miles |
|---|---|
| Time: | 4:14:48 |
| Average speed: | 13.9 mph |
| Maximum speed: | 34.2 mph |
| Total calories: | 3585 |
| Average heart rate: | 119 bpm |
| Maximum heart rate: | 157 bpm |
| Total ascent: | 746 feet |
| Total descent: | 2675 feet |
| Ride profile: |  (click on image to view a larger version) |
| Ride comments: A very cold start! There was frost on the windshield of the car. The first 15 miles of the ride today were downhill off of the Mount Mazama (now Crater Lake National Park) area. Parts of today’s ride were back on Highway 97, but I found alternate roads for all but 10 miles or so. |
|
October 2nd, 2006 at 11:07 am
Hi Peter,
I can tell you’re having a great time and enjoying the touring and sight seeing that you’re doing. You haven’t mentioned a word in quite a while about eating, infusion set problems, and blood sugars. That’s great but I would like to know how you are doing in controlling blood sugars. It would be nice if the Cyclometer on your bike had a small probe attached to it that you could put in your mouth periodically to record your “blood/saliva” sugar. Wouldn’t that be a neat device to have. Maybe the Bayer Engineers in R&D can come up with something.
You mentioned that your bike with the skinny tires was not very good for off road riding on gravel and sand. Do you ever think that maybe you should have 2 bikes, one like you have for riding on hard road surfaces and the other with baloon tires for off road gravel, and sand surfaces?
The photos that you take with your Casio Digital camera are excellent. They are so sharp and clear. Are you using the Scenery setting on the camera? What kind of video camera do you have? Do you hold the video camera in your hand when you are riding and taking videos or do you mount it on the bike somewhere? In the clip you shot along Hwy 97 it looked like the shoulder got very narrow and you almost had to ride on the motorist warning strip that is on the edge of the road. Two flatbed 18 wheelers seemed to go by very close to the white line that separates the road from the shoulder. I can see why you are glad to be off that road.
I have really enjoyed following along your tour with my 1997 National Geographic Interstate Road Atlas. Most of the towns where you stayed and roads that you have traveled are shown on the state maps.
If this was a race you would probably be saying that you can smell the finish line. What is the date that you expect to be home? Keep on pedaling, stay well and be safe.
Florian